Chapter Three
Solicitous

Yorito was pissed. No. He was way past it. Gone for the friendly, loose, funny joking brother to the serious, deadly, overrated, unfair mother bear. His eyes searched for his baby sister a few seats away from him, ogling to the managers about her so-called 'friend' that he couldn't wait to have his hands over the twerp and strangle the life out of the bastard. She was telling them the various type of recipes they had came up together, the research they had done together, the time they had spent together and mostly, the secrets they shared together. God, he was going hysterical by the word.

Together together together—bleh! He spat, momentarily squeezing the bottle in his hands, crunching the plastic as it deformed and protested like twig snaps. His friends turned to him and gave him concerned and confused looks at the same time; the managers remained in their own lively atmosphere where his sister chatted excitedly about the boy he hated so much right now, while he was left to take out his anger on an innocent plastic bottle that did nothing to him, except getting in his way.

Also, he felt a pang of sadness tingling behind his nerves. Fuyuka had always relied on him even the most smallest of things. She had clung onto him like he was a part of her that she couldn't leave behind, pestered him and only depended solely upon him. He was there when she was alone. He was there when she cried over their parents' death. He was there when he had lost her to a treatment. He was there when she didn't remember him, but he painfully stood behind her like a shadow. He looked after her even though she had forgotten about him—about their deep connection as blood siblings. He was there when she needed someone to lean on. Now, it felt like she was drifting further away from him. Surely, he had to let her go someday. She was getting more independent and growing up into a mature girl day by day. But that day wasn't here yet, she still needed him and he was willing to throw away her trust just to keep her safe.

Glancing at her once more, Yorito couldn't find the willpower to walk all over the connection that he had mended ever since the car incident and the time her memories finally returned, he couldn't redo every bit again and again, it could destroy both of them. Feeling frustrated, he dropped his head onto the table. "I don't know how much longer can I tolerate this," he whispered helplessly, thinking back how she had returned home late this morning from her night session with the boy. She had literally spent a night over there without his permission and came home around one in the morning. She never did that. In his mind, his sister was definitely getting corrupted by this boy's behavior and no doubt whoever she was interested in was taking advantage of her kindness.

"Tolerate what?" Kogure appeared under the table with his eyes full of troublesome. Yorito cringed and swatted him away like he was some kind of insect. When it came to personal business, Kogure was the last one he needed to meddle in his problems.

"Nothing," he replied curtly. "Now, shoo."

Kogure tried to look offended, but it wasn't enough to fool him. Once you had spent months with him, you'd know his tricks and mischiefs. Yorito was about to leave when an arm had snaked over his ear and was tugged down to Kogure's level. "You know, if you don't trust Fuyuka-san with the boy. Sneak in the library and go investigate, find out whether you can trust him or not." Kogure didn't let any complaints out of his mouth as he continued, taunting into his ear, "I'm sure that you being here while Fuyuka-san might be backing up this boy just to please him won't help. Who knows maybe your theories might be correct and this boy is taking advantage of her weakness. I bet that the boy is itching to dump her as soon as she's useless to him and you wouln't want Fuyuka-san to get heartbroken and come crying to you, would you?" And he left, snickering to himself.

Yorito dumped his tray into the sink and stalked out. He shook his head, trying to get the ideas out from his head. Taking advices from Kogure could end you up in hell, even if his words were arrows to him. Like tiny voices of Kogures dawdling in his mind. Denying would only make it worse. The opportunity to reveal the strictly forbidden information was damn tempting. Finally, he gave up suppressing the voices and allowed them to corrode his mind.

As the voices continued to thrash his thoughts rapidly with schemes, he saw the door to Fuyuka's room creaked opened. Instinct told him to hide and he hid around the corner, one eye peering out. Fuyuka's head poked out, looking between each side of the corridor, searching for any life. A little over a minute, she broke into a satisfied grin—which made his heart clenched for some reason—and quietly sneaked out to the back door of the villa they were staying, dressed in a red tank top, a mini skirt and brand new shoes. She was passed being in a concert. His eyes flashed suddenly. Or rather, a date.

He pressed closer to the corner when she past him, sighing in relief that she was too preoccupied of hiding her footsteps to notice her own brother sweating buckets by the corner when her eyes seemed to progress over him. She crept through the corridors, took out a spare key hanging above the shoe rack, pushed it into the knob, her other hand twisting the knob slowly—

Just then, Aki came out of nowhere, asking, "Ah, Fuyuka-san, where are you going? Breakfast just ended."

Fuyuka froze. She turned around, forced a smile and said, "Just a bit of shopping. You don't need to come," she interjected immediately when Aki was about to offer to go with her. "I'll be fine. My friend is helping me. And," she added, once again examining the corridors for any signs of her brother, leaned into her ear and whispered, barely audible, "don't tell Onii-chan. You know how he gets when he fusses over little things. Don't worry. He's just there to help carry the groceries and show me around. You know, so I can bring everyone next time when I get familiar with the place. Also, tell Onii-chan to not come or I'll intentionally overcooked his share of breakfast, lunch and dinner for the rest of this vacation. I don't want our reunion to be ruined." She gave a sympathy glance. "He's always in the library, managing the staff and deliveries and all. He rarely gets time to just relax, so this outing is the purpose of it. I don't want that idiot brother of mine to ruin his break."

Yorito nearly wanted to retort back, but held himself back. He looked at Aki with an almost pleading look, praying that she would stop his sister from going out alone with a boy. She understood him far better than anyone. That his overprotectiveness was something sweet. He would believe that Aki would stop her no matter what. Feeling somewhat victorious, he grinned like a fool.

"Aw, that's so sweet of you, Fuyuka-san," Haruna giggled as she came bounding out of nowhere, catching three of them in surprise. Haruna pointed a thumb to her chest. "No worries, I'll make sure Yorito-san doesn't know about this! Leave it to me! Just enjoy your outing with your friend!"

Aki nodded, smiling. "Hope he gets some rest. Pass a message on for me to not overexert himself. Have daily healthy meals and good nights sleep will help his fatigue."

Yorito choked silently, tears of betrayal brimming in his eyes. Traitor, he hissed mentally, hoping that none of them caught his choking voice.

"Well, what are you standing around for," Haruna said, pushing Fuyuka out the door. "Go!"

Yorito felt anger boiled up, hands clenched into fists ready to punch someone. Okay, he needed a plan. A foolproof one. With no holes in it. He could sneak out and trail her from behind, gather as much info as possible while avoiding both of their attention. Let's see. Bring a mallet just incase the boy decides to pounce her. By the end of the journey, catch him in a deserted area without anyone watching, threaten him to never go near his sister ever again. If there's resistence, slaughter the guy and throw the body into a nearby trash can. Wipe off any traces of a murder scene, then return back to the villa, acting like he didn't know anything. Lastly, act like every big brother when his sister comes back crying, ranting about the boy abandoning her or by chance, found him dead in a trash can. Yorito nodded to himself. Problem solved.

He jumped when Natsumi cleared her throat, her arms crossed over her chest. Aki and Haruna stood just a few feet away. "I heard of Fuyuka's situation with her friend." Yorito gulped. Oh my god, just how menacing can I glare get? "And I strongly agreed to at least let her friend rest. Everyone needs their break. Even Fuyuka-san. From her brother." Yorito had to bite down on his lip from whimpering. No matter how strong he could beat everyone, he just seemed weak in the knees when he came to girls. Especially the oh so terrifying Raimon Natsumi. "Therefore, I'd like you to stay put and not leave this villa unless it's an emergency. Otherwise, you know what comes later, right?" He nodded, reluctantly.

Aki and Haruna were giving him suspicious looks.

Oh, well, so much for the plan.


Fuyuka tied her purple scarf around her waist, pulling on her jacket as she half-jogged down the streets. The morning cold air was blocked out by the heat of her jacket. She wondered whether it was the best thing to tell everything to her friends about her meeting. Surely they would keep it a secret from her brother who kept getting in her way every so often. She was fifteen and a third year in Raimon Junior High. Her brother should be laying off not getting clingy by the minute. She brushed it off when she spotted her friend waiting by the corner of a store.

Unlike under the roof of his study, out in the sunlight, his hair seemed to turn a few shades paler, almost like an early winter in summer. His eyes reflected off two pools of water and iron, bluish grey, and his sickly yet beautiful pale skin complexion made any girl envying and guys gawking. Clothed in a simple yellow T-shirt, shorts, sneakers and a scarf wound around his neck, he pushed himself up from the wall he was leaning on and smiled, pulling on a pair of sunglasses which shielded his eyes from view and placed a white bucket hat over his hair; a few bangs stuck out. "Sorry, camouflage." He grinned. "Need to avoid complex attention."

Fuyuka nodded. They entered the hypermarket, passing through the scanners which sat noiselessly by the entrance, green light flashing keenly as it scanned for any things that were being smuggled out. Fubuki pushed a cart as Fuyuka led the way down dozen of aisles, glancing between ingredients and a sheet of paper scribbled with neat handwriting. Occasionally she stopped and dumped random things into the cart, sometimes speeding up to the next aisle, accidentally leaving behind her companion without acknowledging it. However, Fubuki didn't mind and merely sped up to match her pacing, musing to himself of how she could get into a trance when it came to picking ingredients, variety of fruits, examining the vegetables inch by inch, choosing between prices and beneficial requirements, looking past carbonated beverages and abruptly stopping just to calculate the proteins, calories, sugar intake, fats and energy.

"Should I take this? No, maybe not, there's a scratch on it. This one's okay, but the price is too high. I should take this one. Instant is not much of a choice. Mangoes are okay. I think I should start with apples—no, no, should start with pears. Oh, I'm lacking a few of these. I'll get some later on. Should I get the bigger pack or the smaller one? Tea or coffee? Ah, drinks! Should I pick the tropical or natural or maybe milk? Boys need milk to grow, right? Then which one? Low fat, fresh or goat milk—though it's quite expensive, but it pays the price, right? Fubuki-kun, why aren't you answering me?" she added, turning around.

Fubuki sweat-dropped, cracking a weary smile, looking disoriented. "Well... Fuyuka-san didn't give much of a space for me to answer...and you should probably have a sip of water. Your mouth is drying up. By the way," he hesitated as he gestured to the cart he was pushing around, causing her to raise an eyebrow. Other shoppers were staring between the two-thirds empty compartments and the mountain-filled cart. "I think you just bought the market."

.

.

.

[Trust never really did dawn upon me

Watching as you walk your own path

Leaving my essence behind

I reach for you

Longing to stay by your side

But the shadows disapprove

Begrudgingly returning back to the dark]


Author's notes: Talk about good timing. The managers just keep popping out one after another. Too bad my story will be having short chapters, but that do not shorten the story. Just too much breaks. And EXAMS! Whoop dy do, I hate it... I hope I don't bored any of you with the random scenes. Note to self, need to add more screen time for the team. Obviously! I can't just skip to the action scene, it'll ruin the encounter between Fubuki and the team. I like to take things slow, nice and easy. And definitely make sure I don't mess up the plot. As always, reviews helps a lot. Be back, um, in a week?